Control,Shift,Enter

But Shah says that he is not one to mince words,though he knows the ways of the industry. “Sure,designing clothes is my job but I can’t take fashion too seriously,” reiterates the 28-year-old,whose creations have won him a loyal clientele within a span of a year (his first runway collection was lunched in September last year).

Shah’s journey in the fashion world is interesting. Known for his ‘vintage and shabby chic’ outfits — his last collection shown at Lakme Fashion Week,was very well received — Shah has always been a fan of all things retro. “I am a big fan of ’20s,’60s and ’70s fashion,particularly the latter. For me,a well-dressed girl would easily be a geeky girl,clad in a floral dress paired with sports shoes. It is this quirky touch that I have added to each of my outfits,” he says.

Sitting in his spacious studio-cum-office in a village off the distant suburb of Mira Road,the Mumbai-based designer recounts how he grew up surrounded by yards of fabric. “My father runs a business of hand screen printed saris. I grew up watching the printing process,which left me mesmerised. That’s when I decided to take up fashion,” he says.

Right after junior college,Shah joined the London College of Fashion,where he majored in product design and development and supply chain management. In fact,his graduation project — a film called Fashioning the Future that focussed on sustainability in fashion and promoted rural employment — won him a Materials Innovation Award. This was followed by internships at different luxury houses,starting from a nine-month one at Chloé in Paris to three-month stints each at Browns and Burberry in London. “My turning point was at Chloé,where I worked in the marketing and merchandising department. Sometimes,I would stay back in my office till 3am because that’s when we would get the delivery of some items; I got a lot of hands-on experience there,” says the designer,who then came back to Mumbai,where he started out as the brand manager at the Kala Ghoda store,Muse.

In the next two years,Shah realised that he wanted to start his own label. “I am happy with the way Shift has shaped. My label today boasts classic separates which can be worn differently to come up with new looks. This,in turn,makes my clothes very practical. I rarely make a garment keeping a look in mind. The look emerges much later when I am styling — that’s how I end up pairing,say a boxy jacket with a pencil skirt,” he explains,adding that he also believes in affordable luxury,a reason why his outfits rarely exceed the Rs 16,000 price bracket.

In future,he wants to set up a novelty store that would be an extension of his design philosophy. “I also want to make accessories on a bigger scale — be it bags or shoes. This apart,I want to create a design facility where I will offer consultancy services to any fashion enterprise with Indian roots. I see a lot of potential for this in India,” he says.